Wood stopper for bottles.



J. NE-UMANN.

W000 STOP'PER FOR BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED mAvzs. 191a.

Patented Nov 2?, 191? JOHN NEUMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

-WO OD STOPPER FOR BOTTLES.

nausea.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntgfl Edge; 21%, M31} Application filed May 29, 1916; Serial No. 100,711.

. To all whom it may concern:

Be: it known that. I, JOHN NEUMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in W'ood Stoppers for Bottles, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to an improved coated wood stopper for bdttles and the method of making the same. 1

The wood stopper-now in almost universal use is provided-with a rough unfinished uncoated surface and relies upon its own inherent elasticity to produce a tight seal when forced nto the bottle mouth.

Perhaps the greatest disadvantage with the ordinary stopper of this class is that it is exposed to the deteriorating, decaying and contaminating influences of-the liquids or substances contained in the bottle and is apt to become discolored or to rot, thereby destroyingthe seal and injuring the contents of the bottle.

The object, of my invention is to produce an improved stopper with'a coated and protected surface which cannot be discolored or 'injured by the contents of the bottle'and which when forced into a bottle neck will create, a tight seal at all points between the stopper surface and the surrounding interior wall of the bottle neck.

These and other objects I attain by coating the stopper with a waxen composition.

My invention also relates to the method of coating the stopper surface which consists in providing the wooden stopper with a rough unfinished surface and then dipping the same into a molten bath of wax, the hot liquid wax being partially absorbed into the the" stopper which swells and checks producing an intimate and close adhesion between the stopper surface and the wax when cooled.

Theobjects and advantages of my invention will be more particularly disclosed in the following description and pointed out in the appended claims. references being had to the accompanying drawings in which an embodiment of my invention is shown.

In-the drawings Figure 1, represents a sectional view cut through a fragment. of a bottle with a side view of my improved stopper fitted therein.

Fig. 2, istransverse horizontal section through a bottle neck and stopper taken on line 2 2 Fig. 1.,

and 3 the head of the stopper.

However, tapering or different forms of stoppers or corks other than headed stoppers may be employed. I In my improved method for making the improved stopper, the surface of the wood is left rough and unfinished, not being pol ished or smoothed, and it is dipped into a bath of hot molten and liquid wax prefer ably beeswax.

It is left in this bath a sufficient length of time to permit a certain amount of the wax to penetrate into the rough surface of the stopper and to be absorbed, swelling and checking the surface and producing corrugated surface 4, as shown in Fig. 2.

The coating 5, formed on the outer sur face of the stopper, of wax is fairly thick as shown in Fig. 2. and it completely surrounds and covers the stopper stem, present ing 'an impenetrable surface to the bottle contents and protecting the wooden surface of the stopper against rot or deterioration.

Besides the waxen coating provides a sealing film which as the stopper is forced into the bottle neck forms an air and water tight seal at all points between the opposed sur faces of the wax and the interior of the bottle neck;

Till

The stopper is preferably made of cedar or similarsoft wood and is first dipped in cold water containing ten per cent. of salt dissolved therein.

This cold water bath produces a checked, and swollen condition of the surface of the wooden stopper and after it is removed from the cold bath, it is dipped in a hot molten solution of beeswax, which easily penetrates into the swollen surface of the wood, forming a practically homogeneous joint between the wood and wax coating.

While I have illustrated and describeda preferred adaptation for carrying my in vention into effect, the same is capable of a wide range of changes, variations, alterations, and modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore do not Wish to be limited to the form herein shown and described, but desire to avail myself of such variations, alterations, modifications and changes as fairly fall Within the scope of the appended claims or may be construed to come within the same by involving the doctrine of equivalents. What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The method of coating a Wooden bottle stopper, which consists in dipping it first in brine and then in hot wax.

2. The method of coating a Wooden bottle stopper, which consists in dipping it first in cold brine and then in hot wax.

3. The method of coating a wooden stopper, which consists in roughening its surface, dipping it in cold brine, and then dipping it in hot wax.

4. The method of coating a Wooden stopper, which consists in roughening its surface, dipping it in cold brine, then dipping it in hot wax, and subsequently cooling it.

In testimony whereof 1 have aiiixed mV signature.

JOHN NEUMANN. 

